Asustek Admits PC Hack Attack, Disputes Kaspersky Estimate

Asustek disputed an estimate that an attack last year may have infected more than a million users of its devices, saying only several hundred PCs were infiltrated, according to Bloomberg.

Kaspersky Lab said in a report attackers used stolen digital certificates in 2018 to insert malicious code into the Taiwanese PC giant’s live software-update system, which may then have installed back-doors on computers. Kaspersky said it discovered the infiltration in January, which it dubbed Operation Shadowhammer and possibly ran from June to November last year.

But Nick Wu, a spokesman for Asus, said the attacks impacted only several hundred devices. The company had since helped customers fix the problem, patched the vulnerability and updated their servers, Asus said in a separate statement. It’s unclear who the perpetrators were, or their motives.